Method and system of converting delineative pattern

ABSTRACT

A pattern conversion method and apparatus including a storage unit for storing data representative of the contour of a pattern, a readout unit for reading the data from the storing unit; and a processing unit for processing the data read from the storage unit and representative of the contour of the pattern, wherein the processing by the processing unit comprises the steps of: parallel moving each of a plurality of segments constituting the contour of the pattern by the same distance d; solving for an intersection between the moved segments; and repeating the steps for the entire contour of the pattern.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/094,924filed Jul. 22, 1993, which is a continuation application of 07/690,398filed Apr. 25, 1991, which is a continuation of application Ser. No.07/569,737 filed Aug. 22, 1990, which is a continuation application of07/336,514 filed Apr. 11, 1989, which is a continuation application of06/914,733 filed Oct. 2, 1986, all abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and system for converting adelineative pattern such as a character pattern, which are applicable toa graphic pattern which processes apparatus processing patterns in theform of vector data.

2. Related Background Art

The method of converting a character pattern in the form of vector datais excellent in that patterns can be converted with high datacompressibility and at a desired magnification and reduction ratio toobtain patterns of high fidelity. With this method, a vector data formatrepresenting coordinates of a contour of a character pattern is used,e.g., a series of coordinates of successive points of the contour, aseries of displacement values from a start point coordinate, or thelike. Conventional magnification or reduction of a pattern, however,presents a problem: for example, in the case of magnifying a character"H" of FIG. 2(A)) it is simply magnified into a similar figure as shownin FIGS. 2(B) or 2(C).

Apart from the above problem, editing graphic patterns in various formshas recently been desired extensively. For instance, not onlyconventional simple magnification or reduction function, but also avisual effect such as synthesizing one or plural contours produced bywidening or narrowing an original contour in the form of vector data toobtain a so-called outline character has been desired. However, suchgraphic data processing cannot be carried out using a computer or doesnot make it possible to attain the desired visual balance of patterns.Therefore, such processing has relied upon complicated and laboriousprocesses including a photographing process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above prior artproblems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide amethod and system of converting a graphic pattern such as a characterpattern and a processing system therefor, wherein widening or narrowinga graphic pattern can be carried out while retaining the visual balancethereof, through a single pattern conversion, or plural conversions ifdesired, or through addition of the converted pattern to an original oneif desired.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method ofconverting a graphic pattern using a graphic pattern processingapparatus which processes the contour of a pattern in the form of vectordata, wherein widening or narrowing processing of the contour can becarried out while retaining visual balance of the pattern, bycalculating lines parallel to contour line segments of the pattern andthe intersection coordinates of the lines using vector data of thepattern. These and other objects and features of the invention will bemore fully appreciated upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the graphic patternprocessing system according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (C) are views showing examples of magnification andreduction of a character according to a prior art method;

FIG. 3 shows an example of vector data of a contour of a graphiccharacter according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating a relationship between vector data andsegment lines parallel to the contour;

FIG. 5 shows a coordinate of a new contour produced during wideningprocessing;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of widening control process; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the entire graphic pattern processingsystem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. It is apparent that the object,effect and construction of the present invention may be achieved by asystem composed of plural devices or by a single device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the graphic patternprocessing system according to the present invention. In the figure,reference numeral 1 denotes a vector processing unit, 2 a vector datamemory unit, 3 a pattern generator unit, and 4 a pattern temporary unit.

Vector data of character data is stored in the vector data memory unit2. Although in this embodiment, the description is directed to characterdata, the present invention is not limited to character data but otherdata is also applicable. Upon reception of a command for startingprocessing from an external source, the vector processing unit 1 readsdata necessary for the processing from the vector data memory unit 2 andprocesses the data. The processed vector data is then applied to thepattern generator unit 3. The vector processing unit 1 has a CPU (notshown), a ROM starting control programs shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and soon. The pattern generator unit 3 develops the vector data of numericaldata into an actual vector pattern, and stores it in the patterntemporary memory unit 4. The stored pattern is read and outputted as aprocessed data output. Although not shown in FIG. 1, it is apparent thata control unit is provided which includes a display, a pointing device,or various keys, respectively for initiating an execution of such aswidening processing.

The contour of a character pattern is represented by interpolating aseries of vector data points (coordinates) indicated by circles withstraight or curved line segments, as shown in FIG. 3. The illustratedpattern includes two "pattern elements", used herein to denote a set ofone or more lines joined together, each pattern element being made up ofone or more "segments" (straight line segments in the illustratedpattern).

The direction of each of the vector data between adjacent coordinates isso determined that the vector always sees the interior of the character(or the inside of the contour) to the right side.

The description is now directed to the case that the vector data pattern"P" shown in FIG. 3 is widened (or narrowed). For the purpose ofsimplicity of description, the vectors represented by arrows in FIG. 3are called a contour line. The method of widening the contour line by dand obtaining a new contour line, shown by dot lines in FIG. 4, will nowbe described. In the widening processing as illustrated in FIG. 4, eachof the vectors (contour line) is moved to a new position parallel to itsprevious position, by a distance d, which is the same for each vector.By doing so, it is possible to obtain a character pattern "P" moved by dwhile retaining visual balance.

FIG. 5 is a graph for explaining widening processing of a pattern "P" asin FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a control flow chart of the widening processing,the program of which is stored in a ROM of an unrepresented controlunit, and the calculated lines and intersections of patterns are storedin a memory.

Referring now to FIG. 5 vectors V₀ and V₁ represent two adjacent vectorsamong a plurality of vectors constituting the contour pattern shown inFIGS. 3 and 4. The two straight lines of the part of the contour arerepresented by W₀ and W₁. Line W₀ passes through two points (x₀, y₀) and(x₁, y₁), while line W₁ passes through two points (x₁, y₁) and (x₂, y₂).The intersection of lines W₀ and W₁ is (x₁, y₁). The widening processingis performed using the above data. At step 1 shown in FIG. 6, firstafter the amount d of parallel movement (for widening or narrowing) isinputted, the vector data is decoded (conversion of coordinates). Thenat step S3, parallel lines W₀ ' and W₁ ' are obtained which are spacedapart by d from lines W₀ and W₁, respectively. At step S4, theintersection between lines W₀ ' and W₁ ' is obtained. These processesare conducted m times for a vector loop (closed area) constructed of mvectors (steps S3, S4, S6 and S5). In the case of FIG. 3, m=10 for theouter contour and m=8 for the inner contour. At step 7, it is judged ifall the contours have been processed or not, i.e., in the case of theFIG. 3 example if steps S3 to S6 have been executed for the outercontour (m=10) and the inner contour (m=8). If completed, decode-vectordata for all the contours of the pattern "P" is vector-encoded to obtainvector data at step S8.

Next, the processes at steps S5 and S6 will be discussed in detail withreference to FIG. 5.

As understood from FIG. 5, line W₀ can be expressed as:

    y-y.sub.0 Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 ·(x-x.sub.0)(1)

where Δy₀ and Δx₀ represent increments of line W₀, respectively for x-and y-coordinates. Δy₁ and Δx₁ shown in FIG. 5 also represent the same.

Line W₀ ' parallel to line W₀ is expressed as:

    W.sub.0 ':y-(y.sub.0 e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 ·(x-x.sub.0)                                     (2)

where e₀ represents the amount of movement from line W₀ to line W₀ ' inthe y-direction, which e₀ is expressed as: ##EQU1## Substitutingequation (3) into equation (2), line W₀ ' to be obtained is solved basedon the above coordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁), and the parallelmovement amount d.

The equations for solving line W₁ ', regarding the next vector V₁following vector V₀ and parallel to line W₁, are expressed as follows:##EQU2##

A new intersection (x₁ ', y₁ ') produced by moving vectors V₀ and V₁ bydistance d can be obtained from a solution (x, y) of simultaneousequation (2) and (4). For simplification, the slopes of the lines arerepresented here as:

    a.sub.0 =Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0                    (6)

    a.sub.1 =Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1

then,

    x.sub.1 '=[(a.sub.0 x.sub.0 -a.sub.1 ·x.sub.1)-{(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)}]/(a.sub.0 -a.sub.1)         (7)

    y.sub.1 '=a.sub.0 (x.sub.1 '-x.sub.0)+(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)   (8)

Using known values x₀, y₀, x₁, y₁, e₀, e₁, a₀, and a₁, the intersection(x₁ ' , y₁ ') can be obtained from equations (7) and (8).

If a pattern has m vectors, the above calculation is repeated m times toobtain a new contour line moved by same distance d from an originalcontour line. If the pattern has n contour lines, the above m timescalculation is repeated n times (in case of FIG. 3, n=2).

If Δx₀ =0 or Δx₁ =0 in equation (6) or a₀ =a₁ in equation (7), the abovecalculation is replaced by an exceptional processing.

The amount of parallel movement d may take a widening value or anarrowing value. If d is positive, the movement amount e₀ of equation(3) is such that the contour for each vector data is widened, whereas ifd is negative the contour is narrowed. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showingthe entire graphic pattern processing system, which is executed by theunrepresented control unit. In the flow chart, after a delineativepattern is formed and displayed at step S1, an editing processing suchas rotating or slanting conversion including, for example, the wideningprocessing of FIG. 6, is executed.

As appreciated from the foregoing description of the present invention,visual balance is ensured for those patterns subjected to rotatingconversion, slanting conversion or any other conversion prior to thepattern conversion of the present invention.

Further, a shadow effect can be obtained in such a manner that afterchanging the interior of pattern subjected to a widening processing to adot pattern, the dot pattern is moved by a certain distance tosynthesize it to another dot pattern similarly obtained. New vector datahaving correct visual balance can readily be produced by convertingoriginal vector data through a widening or narrowing processing.

The present invention is not limited to a graphic character, but it isapplicable to a general pattern of vector data. The present inventionhas various applications, such as to an image processing system capableof pattern processing, forms processing and the like.

As described in detail so far, the method of converting a graphicpattern, used with a pattern processing apparatus processing the contourline of the pattern in the form of vector data, has enabled calculating,in accordance with the predetermined processes, lines parallel tocontour line segments of the vector data and their intersectioncoordinates, and parallel widening or narrowing the pattern whileretaining visual balance.

We claim:
 1. A pattern conversion method employing (i) storage means forstoring data, in a form of a series of coordinates, representative of anoriginal pattern comprising a plurality of pattern elements, (ii) meansfor reading the data from the storage means, and (iii) means forprocessing the data read from the storage means, wherein the processingby the processing means comprises the steps of:parallel moving each of aplurality of segments, which plurality of segments form a contour of oneof the plurality of pattern elements, by a distance d in a predetermineddirection corresponding to a direction of the series of coordinates;obtaining an intersection between adjacent ones of the moved segments;and repeating said moving and obtaining steps for the rest of theplurality of pattern elements.
 2. A pattern conversion method accordingto claim 1, wherein each of the segments comprises a line among aplurality of lines successively connecting each of the coordinates. 3.An image processing system comprising:storage means for storing a seriesof coordinate data representative of a contour of a pattern in a givenorder; means for generating an instruction signal for instructing anedit processing of a pattern stored in said storage means; operationalmeans for obtaining, in response to the instruction signal generated bysaid generating means, straight lines which are parallel-moved, in apredetermined direction corresponding to a direction of the series ofcoordinate data, by a constant distance d relative to correspondingstraight lines passing through two adjacent coordinates, in the givenorder, of the series stored in said storage means; deriving means forobtaining an intersection between adjacent straight lines obtainedthrough parallel movement by said operational means, wherein saidoperational means obtains the straight lines such that an originalpattern is widened depending upon whether d is positive or not; andpainting means for painting the inside of the widened pattern.
 4. Animage processing system according to claim 3, wherein said generatingmeans comprises an operation unit for initiating widening of an originalpattern.
 5. An image processing system according to claim 3, whereinsaid operational means obtains the amount, in terms of y-coordinates, ofparallel movement of the straight line, from the series of coordinatedata.
 6. An image processing system comprising:storage means for storinga series of coordinate data representative of the contour of an image ina given order; first edit means for effecting first predeterminedprocessing of the image stored in said storing means; instruction meansfor instructing performance of a widening processing on the image editedby said first edit means; second edit means for effecting, in responseto an instruction by said instruction means, a widening processing ofthe image edited by said first edit means, said second edit meansincluding first deriving means for deriving a straight line which isobtained by parallel moving by a certain distance each straight linepassing through two coordinates adjacent, in the given order, in theseries and representative of the image which has been edited by saidfirst edit means, and second deriving means for deriving intersectionsbetween a plurality of straight lines derived by said first derivingmeans; and output means for outputting an image after the image has beensubjected to a widening processing which image to be output isrepresented by the intersections derived by said second deriving meansand by the straight lines passing through the intersections derived bysaid first deriving means.
 7. An image processing system according toclaim 6, wherein said output means includes interpolation means forinterpolating straight lines between the intersections.
 8. An imageprocessing system according to claim 6, wherein said first derivingmeans performs a widening processing of an original image depending uponwhether the constant distance is positive.
 9. An image processing systemaccording to claim 6, wherein said second edit means can perform auniform widening processing of an original image, irrespective ofwhether said first edit means performs an editing.
 10. A patternconversion method according to claim 1, wherein the reading means insequence generates the series of coordinates stored by the storage meansso as to form the segments in sequence such that a predetermined side ofeach segment is toward the inside of the pattern.
 11. A patternconversion method according to claim 1, wherein a new pattern isobtained by equally widening or narrowing the original pattern with thecenter of the new pattern coincident with that of the original patternby the processing means.
 12. A pattern conversion method according toclaim 1, wherein said moving step further comprises at least the step ofobtaining equations wherein W₀ denotes a straight line through twopoints respectively having coordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in apredetermined coordinate system, and W₁ denotes a straight line throughthe point having the coordinates (x₁, y₁) and a point having coordinates(x₂, y₂), the lines W₀ and W₁ representing the contour; W₀ ' and W₁ 'denote straight lines obtained by parallel-moving each of the straightlines W₀ and W₁ by the distance d, respectively; e₀ and e₁ denote changein y-intercept between W₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁ and W₁ ',respectively; Δx₀ and Δy₀ denote increments of W₀ in x and ycoordinates, respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁ denote increments of W₁ in xand y coordinates, respectively, the equations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

and wherein said obtaining step further comprises the step of obtaininga new intersection (x₁ ', y₁ ') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 13. Apattern conversion method according to claim 1, wherein, in a case ofnarrowing the pattern, each segment is parallel-moved by the distance dinto the inside of the contour.
 14. An image processing system accordingto claim 3, wherein said operational means generates in sequence theseries of coordinate data stored by said storage means so as to form insequence a plurality of segments constituting the pattern such that apredetermined side of each segment is toward the inside of the pattern.15. An image processing system according to claim 3, wherein theresulting pattern is equally widened by said operational means, with itscenter coincident with that of the original pattern.
 16. An imageprocessing system according to claim 3, wherein said operational meansand said calculating means obtain equations wherein W₀ denotes astraight line through two points respectively having coordinates (x₀,y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in a predetermined coordinate system, and W₁ denotes astraight line through the point having the coordinates (x₁, y₁) and apoint having coordinates (x₂, y₂), the lines W₀ and W₁ representing thecontour; W₀ ' and W₁ ' denote straight lines obtained by parallel-movingeach of the straight lines W₀ and W₁ by the distance d, respectively; e₀and e₁ denote change in y-intercept between W₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁and W₁ ', respectively; Δx₀ and Δy₀ denote increments of W₀ in x and ycoordinates, respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁ denote increments of W₁ in xand y coordinates, respectively, the equations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

and wherein said operational means and said calculating means obtain anew intersection (x₁ ', y₁ ') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 17. Animage processing system according to claim 3, wherein said paintingmeans paints only the inside of the widened pattern obtained by saidoperation means.
 18. An image processing system according to claim 3,wherein the pattern comprises a plurality of pattern elements.
 19. Animage processing system according to claim 6, wherein said firstderiving means generates in sequence the series of coordinates stored bysaid storage means so as to form in sequence a plurality of segmentsconstituting the pattern such that a predetermined side of each segmentis toward the inside of the pattern.
 20. An image processing systemaccording to claim 6, wherein said output means obtains a new patternequally widened with its center coincident with that of the patternedited by said first edit means.
 21. An image processing systemaccording to claim 16, wherein said second edit means obtains equationswherein W₀ denotes a straight line through two points respectivelyhaving coordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in a predetermined coordinatesystem, and W₁ denotes a straight line through the point having thecoordinates (x₁, y₁) and a point having coordinates (x₂, y₂),representing the contour; W₀ ' and W₁ ' denote straight lines obtainedby parallel-moving each of the straight lines W₀ and W₁ by the distanced, respectively; e₀ and e₁ denote change in y-intercept between W₀ andW₀ ' and between W₁ and W₁ ', respectively; Δx₀ and Δy₀ denoteincrements of W₀ in x and y coordinates, respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁denote increments of W₁ in x and y coordinates, respectively, theequations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

and wherein said second edit means obtains a new intersection (x₁ ', y₁') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 22. An image processing systemaccording to claim 6, wherein one image pattern includes a plurality ofpattern elements comprising a plurality of the straight lines.
 23. Apattern conversion method comprising the steps of:obtaining equationsbased on pattern data in a form of a series of coordinates, wherein W₀denotes a straight line through two points respectively havingcoordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in a predetermined coordinate system,and W₁ denotes a straight line through the point having the coordinates(x₁, y₁) and a point having coordinates (x₂, y₂) the lines W₀ and W₁constituting a pattern, wherein W₀ ' and W₁ ' denote straight linesobtained by parallel-moving, in a predetermined direction correspondingto a direction of the series of coordinates, each of the straight linesW₀ and W₁ by the distance d, respectively; wherein e₀ and e₁ denotechange in y-intercept between W₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁ and W₁ ',respectively; wherein Δx₀ and Δy₀ denote increments of W₀ in x and ycoordinates, respectively; and wherein Δx₁ and Δy₁ denote increments ofW₁ in x and y coordinates, respectively, the equations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

obtaining a new intersection (x₁ ', y₁ ') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁'; and determining whether the foregoing steps should be repeated, inresponse to whether every new intersection has been obtained for the onepattern.
 24. A pattern conversion method according to claim 23, whereinthe distance d is assigned a polarity (+ or -) according to whether thepattern is to be widened or narrowed.
 25. A pattern conversion methodaccording to claim 23, wherein the pattern comprises at least threestraight lines.
 26. An image processing system according to claim 6,wherein the processing effected by said first edit means includesrotation of the coordinate data.
 27. An image processing systemaccording to claim 6, wherein the processing effected by said first editmeans includes slanting of the coordinate data.
 28. An image processingsystem according to claim 6, wherein said storage means, said first andsecond edit means, said instruction means and said output means are allin a single apparatus.
 29. An image processing system according to claim6, wherein said storage means, said first and second edit means, saidinstruction means and said output means are not all in a singleapparatus.
 30. An image processing system according to claim 3, whereinsaid storage means, said generating means, said operational means, saidderiving means and said painting means are all in a single apparatus.31. An image processing system according to claim 3, wherein saidstorage means, said generating means, said operational means, saidderiving means and said painting means are not all in a singleapparatus.
 32. An image processing method employing storage means forstoring a series of coordinate data representative of a contour of apattern in a given order, said method comprising the steps of:generatingan instruction signal for instructing an edit processing of a patternstored in the storage means; obtaining, in response to the instructionsignal, straight lines which are parallel-moved, in a predetermineddirection corresponding to a direction of the series of coordinate data,by a constant distance d relative to corresponding straight linespassing through two adjacent coordinates, in the given order, of theseries stored in the storage means; deriving an intersection betweenadjacent straight lines obtained through parallel movement in saidobtaining step, wherein the straight lines are obtained in saidobtaining step such that an original pattern is widened depending uponwhether d is positive or not; and painting an inside of the widenedpattern.
 33. An image processing method according to claim 32, whereinsaid generating step further comprises initiating widening of anoriginal pattern.
 34. An image processing method according to claim 32,wherein, in said obtaining step, the amount, in terms of y-coordinates,of parallel movement of the straight line, is obtained from the seriesof coordinate data.
 35. An image processing method according to claim32, wherein, in said obtaining step, the series of coordinate datastored in the storage means are generated in sequence so as to form insequence a plurality of segments constituting the pattern such that apredetermined side of each segment is toward the inside of the pattern.36. An image processing method according to claim 32, wherein theresulting pattern is equally widened in said obtaining step, with itscenter coincident with that of the original pattern.
 37. An imageprocessing method according to claim 32, wherein, in said obtaining andderiving steps, are obtained equations wherein W₀ denotes a straightline through two points respectively having coordinates (x₀, y₀) and(x₁, y₁) in a predetermined coordinate system, and W₁ denotes a straightline through the point having the coordinates (x₁, y₁) and a pointhaving coordinates (x₂, y₂), the lines W₀ and W₁ representing thecontour; W₀ ' and W₁ ' denote straight lines obtained by parallel-movingeach of the straight lines W₀ and W₁ by the distance d, respectively; e₀and e₁ denote change in y-intercept between W₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁and W₁ ', respectively; Δx₀ and Δy₀ denote increments of W₀ in x and ycoordinates, respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁ denote increments of W₁ in xand y coordinates, respectively, the equations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

and wherein, in said deriving step, is derived a new intersection (x₁ ',y₁ ') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 38. An image processing methodaccording to claim 32, wherein only the inside of the widened patternobtained in said obtaining step is painted in said painting step.
 39. Animage processing method according to claim 32, wherein the patterncomprises a plurality of pattern elements.
 40. An image processingmethod employing storage means for storing a series of coordinate datarepresentative of a contour of an image in a given order, said methodcomprising the steps of:performing first editing, by effecting firstpredetermined processing of the image stored in the storage means;instructing performance of a widening processing or narrowing processingon the image edited in said first-editing step; performing secondediting, by effecting, in response to an instruction in said instructingstep, a widening processing or narrowing processing of the image editedin said first-editing step, said second-editing including deriving astraight line which is obtained by parallel moving, in a predetermineddirection corresponding to a direction of the series of coordinate data,by a certain distance each straight line passing through two coordinatesadjacent, in the given order, in the series and representative of theimage which has been edited in said first-editing step, and derivingintersections between a plurality of straight lines derived in saidfirst-deriving sub-step; and outputting an image after the image hasbeen subjected to a widening processing or narrowing processing, whichimage to be output is represented by the intersections derived in saidsecond-deriving sub-step and by the straight lines passing through theintersections derived in said first-deriving sub-step.
 41. An imageprocessing method according to claim 40, wherein said outputting stepincludes interpolating straight lines between the intersections.
 42. Animage processing method according to claim 40, wherein saidfirst-deriving sub-step includes a widening processing of an originalimage depending upon whether the constant distance is positive or not.43. An image processing method according to claim 40, wherein saidsecond-editing step includes a uniform widening processing of anoriginal image, irrespective of whether said first-editing step effectsan editing.
 44. An image processing method according to claim 40,wherein, in said first-deriving sub-step, the series of coordinatesstored in the storage means are generated in sequence so as to form insequence a plurality of segments constituting the pattern such that apredetermined side of each segment is toward the inside of the pattern.45. An image processing method according to claim 40, wherein, in saidoutputting step, a new pattern is obtained, equally widened with itscenter coincident with that of the pattern edited in said first-editingstep.
 46. An image processing method according to claim 40, wherein, insaid second-editing step, are obtained equations wherein W₀ denotes astraight line through two points respectively having coordinates (x₀,y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in a predetermined coordinate system, and W₁ denotes astraight line through the point having the coordinates (x₁, y₁) and apoint having coordinates (x₂, y₂), representing the contour; wherein W₀' and W₁ ' denote straight lines obtained by parallel-moving each of thestraight lines W₀ and W₁ by the distance d, respectively; e₀ and e₁denote change in y-intercept between W₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁ and W₁', respectively; Δx₀ and Δy₀ denote increments of W₀ in x and ycoordinates, respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁ denote increments of W₁ in xand y coordinates, respectively, the equations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

and wherein, in said second-editing step, is obtained a new intersection(x₁ ', y₁ ') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 47. An image processingmethod according to claim 40, wherein one image pattern includes aplurality of pattern elements comprising a plurality of the straightlines.
 48. An image processing method according to claim 40, wherein theprocessing effected in said first-editing step includes rotation of thecoordinate data.
 49. An image processing method according to claim 40,wherein the processing effected in said first-editing step includesslanting of the coordinate data.
 50. A pattern conversion system,comprising:storage means for storing data, in a form of a series ofcoordinates, representative of an original pattern comprising aplurality of pattern elements; means for reading the data from saidstorage means; and means for processing the data read from said storagemeans and representative of the pattern, wherein the processing by saidprocessing means further comprises: parallel moving each of a pluralityof segments, which plurality of segments form a contour of one of theplurality of pattern elements, by a distance d in a predetermineddirection corresponding to a direction of the series of coordinates,obtaining an intersection between adjacent ones of the moved segments,and repeating the moving and obtaining operations for the rest of theplurality of pattern elements.
 51. A pattern conversion system accordingto claim 50, wherein each of the segments comprises a line among aplurality of lines successively connecting each of the coordinates. 52.A pattern conversion system according to claim 50, wherein said readingmeans generates in sequence the series of coordinates stored by saidstorage means so as to form the segments in sequence such that apredetermined side of each segment is toward the inside of the pattern.53. A pattern conversion system according to claim 50, wherein a newpattern is obtained by equally widening or narrowing the originalpattern with the center of the new pattern coincident with that of theoriginal pattern by said processing means.
 54. A pattern conversionsystem according to claim 50, wherein the moving operation performed bysaid processing means further comprises obtaining equations, wherein W₀denotes a straight line through two points respectively havingcoordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in a predetermined coordinate system,and W₁ denotes a straight line through the point having the coordinates(x₁, y₁) and a point having coordinates (x₂, y₂), the lines W₀ and W₁representing the contour; wherein W₀ ' and W₁ ' denote straight linesobtained by parallel-moving each of the straight lines W₀ and W₁ by thedistance d, respectively; e₀ and e₁ denote change in y-intercept betweenW₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁ and W₁ ', respectively; Δx₀ and Δy₀ denoteincrements of W₀ in x and y coordinates, respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁denote increments of W₁ in x and y coordinates, respectively, theequations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

and wherein, in the obtaining operation, is obtained a new intersection(x₁ ', y₁ ') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 55. A pattern conversionsystem according to claim 50, wherein in a case of narrowing thepattern, each segment is parallel-moved by the distance d into theinside of the contour.
 56. A pattern conversion system according toclaim 50, wherein said storage means, said reading means and saidprocessing means are all in a single apparatus.
 57. A pattern conversionsystem according to claim 50, wherein said storage means, said readingmeans and said processing means are not all in a single apparatus.
 58. Apattern conversion apparatus, comprising:computing means for obtainingequations based on pattern data in a form of a series of coordinates,wherein W₀ denotes a straight line through two points respectivelyhaving coordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in a predetermined coordinatesystem, and W₁ denotes a straight line through the point having thecoordinates (x₁, y₁) and a point having coordinates (x₂, y₂), the linesW₀ and W₁ forming a pattern; wherein W₀ ' and W₁ ' denote straight linesobtained by parallel-moving, in a predetermined direction correspondingto a direction of the series of coordinates, each of the straight linesW₀ and W₁ by a distance d, respectively; wherein e₀ and e₁ denote changein y-intercept between W₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁ and W₁ ',respectively; wherein Δx₀ and Δy₀ denote increments of W₀ in x and ycoordinates, respectively; and wherein Δx₁ and Δy₁ denote increments ofW₁ in x and y coordinates, respectively; the equations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

and for obtaining a new intersection (x₁ ', y₁ ') between the lines W₀ 'and W₁ '; and control means for determining whether to cause saidcomputing means to repeat performance of the foregoing obtainingoperations, based on whether every new intersection has been obtainedfor the one pattern.
 59. A pattern conversion apparatus according toclaim 58, wherein the distance d is assigned a polarity (+ or -)according to whether the pattern is to be widened or narrowed.
 60. Apattern conversion apparatus according to claim 58, wherein the patterncomprises at least three straight lines.
 61. A pattern conversionapparatus according to claim 58, wherein said computing means and saidcontrol means are both in a single apparatus.
 62. A pattern conversionapparatus according to claim 58, wherein said computing means and saidcontrol means are not both in a single apparatus.
 63. An imageprocessing system comprising:storage means for storing a series ofcoordinate data representative of a contour of a pattern in a givenorder; means for generating an instruction signal for instructing anedit processing of a pattern stored in said storage means; operationalmeans for obtaining, in response to the instruction signal generated bysaid generating means, straight lines which are parallel-moved, in apredetermined direction corresponding to a direction of the series ofcoordinate data, by a constant distance d relating to correspondingstraight lines passing through two adjacent coordinates, in the givenorder, of the series stored in said storage means; deriving means forobtaining an intersection between adjacent straight lines obtainedthrough parallel movement by said operational means, wherein saidoperational means obtains the straight lines such that an originalpattern is narrowed depending upon whether d is positive or not; andpainting means for painting an inside of the narrowed pattern.
 64. Animage processing system according to claim 63, wherein said generatingmeans comprises an operation unit for initiating narrowing of anoriginal pattern.
 65. An image processing system according to claim 63,wherein said operational means obtains the amount, in terms ofy-coordinates, of parallel movement of the straight line, from theseries of coordinate data.
 66. An image processing systemcomprising:storage means for storing a series of coordinate datarepresentative of a contour of an image in a given order; first editmeans for effecting first predetermined processing of the image storedin said storage means; instruction means for instructing performance ofa narrowing processing on the image edited by said first edit means;second edit means for effecting, in response to an instruction by saidinstruction means, a narrowing processing of the image edited by saidfirst edit means, said second edit means including first deriving meansfor deriving a straight line which is obtained by parallel moving, in apredetermined direction corresponding to a direction of the series ofcoordinate data, by a certain distance each straight line passingthrough two coordinates adjacent, in the given order, in the series andrepresentative of the image which has been edited by said first editmeans, and second deriving means for deriving intersections between aplurality of straight lines derived by said first deriving means; andoutput means for outputting an image after the image has been subjectedto a narrowing processing, which image to be output is represented bythe intersections derived by said second deriving means and by thestraight lines passing through the intersections derived by said firstderiving means.
 67. An image processing system according to claim 63,wherein, in narrowing the pattern, each of the straight lines isparallel-moved into the inside of the pattern by the distance d.
 68. Animage processing system according to claim 66, wherein, in narrowing thepattern, each of the straight lines is parallel-moved into the inside ofthe pattern by the distance d by said second edit means.
 69. An imageprocessing system according to claim 66, wherein said output meansincludes interpolation means for interpolating straight lines betweenthe intersections.
 70. An image processing system according to claim 66,wherein said first deriving means performs a narrowing processing of anoriginal image depending upon whether the constant distance is positiveor not.
 71. An image processing system according to claim 66, whereinsaid second edit means can perform a uniform narrowing processing of anoriginal image, irrespective of whether said first edit means performsan editing.
 72. An image processing system according to claim 63,wherein said operational means generates in sequence the series ofcoordinate data stored by said storage means so as to form in sequence aplurality of segments constituting the pattern such that a predeterminedside of each segment is toward the inside of the pattern.
 73. An imageprocessing system according to claim 63, wherein the resulting patternis equally narrowed by said operational means, with its centercoincident with that of the original pattern.
 74. An image processingsystem according to claim 63, wherein said operational means and saidderiving means obtain equations, wherein W₀ denotes a straight linethrough two points respectively having coordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁)in a predetermined coordinate system, and W₁ denotes a straight linethrough the point having the coordinates (x₁, y₁) and a point havingcoordinates (x₂, y₂), the lines W₀ and W₁ representing the contour;wherein W₀ ' and W₁ ' denote straight lines obtained by parallel-movingeach of the straight lines W₀ and W₁ by the distance d, respectively; e₀and e₁ denote change in y-intercept between W₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁and W₁ ', respectively; Δx₀ and Δy₀ denote increments of W₀ in x and ycoordinates, respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁ denote increments of W₁ in xand y coordinates, respectively, the equations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

wherein said operational means and said deriving means obtain a newintersection (x₁ ', y₁ ') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 75. An imageprocessing system according to claim 63, wherein said painting meanspaints only the inside of the narrowed pattern obtained by saidoperational means.
 76. An image processing system according to claim 63,wherein the pattern comprises a plurality of pattern elements.
 77. Animage processing system according to claim 66, wherein said firstderiving means generates in sequence the series of coordinates stored bysaid storage means so as to form in sequence a plurality of segmentsconstituting the pattern such that a predetermined side of each segmentis toward the inside of the pattern.
 78. An image processing systemaccording to claim 66, wherein said output means obtains a new patternequally narrowed with its center coincident with that of the patternedited by said edited by said first edit means.
 79. An image processingsystem according to claim 66, wherein said second edit means obtainequations, wherein W₀ denotes a straight line through two pointsrespectively having coordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in a predeterminedcoordinate system, and W₁ denotes a straight line through the pointhaving the coordinates (x₁, y₁) and a point having coordinates (x₂, y₂)representing the contour, wherein W₀ ' and W₁ ' denote straight linesobtained by parallel-moving each of the straight lines W₀ and W₁ by thedistance d, respectively, e₀ and e₁ denote change in y-intercept betweenW₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁ and W₁ ', respectively; Δx₀ and Δy₀ denoteincrements of W₀ in x and y coordinates, respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁denote increments of W₁ in x and y coordinates, respectively, theequations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

wherein said second edit means obtains a new intersection (x₁ ', y₁ ')between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 80. An image processing systemaccording to claim 66, wherein one image pattern includes a plurality ofpattern elements comprising a plurality of straight lines.
 81. An imageprocessing system according to claim 66, wherein the processing effectedby said first edit means includes rotation of the coordinate data. 82.An image processing system according to claim 66, wherein the processingeffected by said first edit means includes slanting of the coordinatedata.
 83. An image processing system according to claim 66, wherein saidstorage means, said first and second edit means, said instruction meansand said output means are all in a single apparatus.
 84. An imageprocessing system according to claim 66, wherein said storage means,said first and second edit means, said instruction means and said outputmeans are not all in a single apparatus.
 85. An image processing systemaccording to claim 63, wherein said storage means, said generatingmeans, said operational means, said deriving means and said paintingmeans are all in a single apparatus.
 86. An image processing systemaccording to claim 63, wherein said storage means, said generatingmeans, said operational means, said deriving means and said paintingmeans are not all in a single apparatus.
 87. An image processing methodemploying storage means for storing a series of coordinate datarepresentative of a contour of a pattern in a given order, said methodcomprising the steps of:generating an instruction signal for instructingan edit processing of a pattern stored in the storage means; obtaining,in response to the instruction signal, straight lines which areparallel-moved, in a predetermined direction corresponding to adirection of the series of coordinate data, by a constant distance drelative to corresponding straight lines passing through two adjacentcoordinates, in the given order, of the series stored in the storagemeans; deriving an intersection between adjacent straight lines obtainedthrough parallel movement in said obtaining step, wherein the straightlines are obtained in said obtaining step such that an original patternis narrowed depending upon whether d is positive or not; and painting aninside of the narrowed pattern.
 88. An image processing system accordingto claim 87, wherein, in narrowing the pattern, each of the straightlines is parallel-moved into the inside of the pattern by the distanced.
 89. An image processing system according to claim 87, wherein saidgenerating step further comprises initiating narrowing of an originalpattern.
 90. An image processing method according to claim 87, wherein,in said obtaining step, the amount, in terms of y-coordinates, ofparallel movement of the straight line, is obtained from the series ofcoordinate data.
 91. An image processing method according to claim 87,wherein, in said obtaining step, the series of coordinate data stored inthe storage means are generated in sequence so as to form in sequence aplurality of segments constituting the pattern such that a predeterminedside of each segment is toward the inside of the pattern.
 92. An imageprocessing method according to claim 87, wherein the resulting patternis equally narrowed in said obtaining step, with its center coincidentwith that of the original pattern.
 93. An image processing methodaccording to claim 87, wherein, in said obtaining and deriving steps,are obtained equations, wherein W₀ denotes a straight line through twopoints respectively having coordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in apredetermined coordinate system, and W₁ denotes a straight line throughthe point having the coordinates (x₁, y₁) and a point having coordinates(x₂, y₂), the lines W₀ and W₁ representing the contour; W₀ ' and W₁ 'denote straight lines obtained by parallel-moving each of the straightlines W₀ and W₁ by the distance d, respectively; e₀ and e₁ denote changein y-intercept between W₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁ and W₁ ',respectively; Δx₀ and Δy₀ denote increments of W₀ in x and ycoordinates, respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁ denote increments of W₁ in xand y coordinates, respectively, the equations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

wherein, in said deriving step, is derived a new intersection (x₁ ', y₁') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 94. An image processing methodaccording to claim 87, wherein only the inside of the narrowed patternobtained in said obtaining step is painted in said painting step.
 95. Animage processing method according to claim 87, wherein the patterncomprises a plurality of pattern elements.
 96. An image processingmethod employing storage means for storing a series of coordinate datarepresentative of a contour of an image in a given order, said methodcomprising the steps of:performing first editing, by effecting firstpredetermined processing of the image stored in the storage means;instructing performance of a narrowing processing on the image edited insaid first editing step; performing second editing, by effecting, inresponse to an instruction in said instructing step, a narrowingprocessing of the image edited in said first-editing including derivinga straight line which is obtained by parallel moving, in a predetermineddirection corresponding to a direction of the series of coordinate data,by a certain distance each straight line passing through two coordinatesadjacent, in the given order, in the series and representative of theimage which has been edited in said first-editing step, and derivingintersections between a plurality of straight lines derived in saidfirst-deriving sub-step; and outputting an image after the image hasbeen subjected to a narrowing processing, which image to be output isrepresented by the intersections derived in said second-derivingsub-step and by the straight lines passing through the intersectionsderived in said first-deriving sub-step.
 97. An image processing methodaccording to claim 96, wherein, in narrowing the pattern, each of thestraight lines is parallel-moved into the inside of the pattern by thedistance d in said second-editing step.
 98. An image processing methodaccording to claim 96, wherein said outputting step includesinterpolating straight lines between the intersections.
 99. An imageprocessing method according to claim 96, wherein said first-derivingsub-step includes a narrowing processing of an original image dependingupon whether the constant distance is positive or not.
 100. An imageprocessing method according to claim 96, wherein said second-editingstep includes a uniform narrowing processing of an original image,irrespective of whether said first-editing step effects an editing. 101.An image processing method according to claim 96, wherein, in saidfirst-deriving sub-step, the series of coordinates stored in the storagemeans are generated in sequence so as to form in sequence a plurality ofsegments constituting the pattern such that a predetermined side of eachsegment is toward the inside of the pattern.
 102. An image processingmethod according to claim 96, wherein, in said outputting step, a newpattern is obtained, equally narrowed with its center coincident withthat of the pattern edited in said first-editing step.
 103. An imageprocessing method according to claim 96, wherein, in said second-editingstep, are obtained equations, wherein W₀ denotes a straight line throughtwo points respectively having coordinates (x₀, y₀) and (x₁, y₁) in apredetermined coordinate system, and W₁ denotes a straight line throughthe point having the coordinates (x₁, y₁) and a point having coordinates(x₂, y₂), representing the contour; wherein W₀ ' and W₁ ' denotestraight lines obtained by parallel-moving each of the straight lines W₀and W₁ by the distance d, respectively; e₀ and e₁ denote change iny-intercept between W₀ and W₀ ' and between W₁ and W₁ ', respectively;Δx₀ and Δy₀ denote increments of W₀ in x and y coordinates,respectively; and Δx₁ and Δy₁ denote increments of W₁ in x and ycoordinates, respectively, the equations being:

    y-(y.sub.0 +e.sub.0)=Δy.sub.0 /Δx.sub.0 (x-x.sub.0) for W.sub.0 ' and

    y-(y.sub.1 +e.sub.1)=Δy.sub.1 /Δx.sub.1 (x-x.sub.1) for W.sub.1 ';

wherein, in said second-editing step, is obtained a new intersection (x₁', y₁ ') between the lines W₀ ' and W₁ '.
 104. An image processingmethod according to claim 96, wherein one image pattern includes aplurality of pattern elements comprising a plurality of straight lines.105. An image processing method according to claim 96, wherein theprocessing effected by said first editing step includes rotation of thecoordinate data.
 106. An image processing method according to claim 96,wherein the processing effected by said first editing step includesslanting of the coordinate data.